we're invincible in a violet sea
by The Crownless Queen
Summary: "You should sleep with Sirius," Lily tells James one morning over coffee, and James chokes so badly he almost throws up. Or in which Lily, James and Sirius are happy but they could be happier, and the answer to that is obviously to get together.


Written for Flower Picking Season at Hogwarts – Lily: "How did you manage to lose a grown man in a supermarket?" and because I love this triad and need more of it in my life.

 _Word count_ : 2404

 **we're invincible in a violet sea**

When the phone rings, Lily isn't quite sure what to expect. They had only installed it so she could call her parents and sister, and now the former are no longer alive while the later has refused to speak to Lily since the funeral.

As such, the phone has laid silent since practically the day she and James had moved in together. To be entirely honest, Lily had forgotten about entirely, and had she known to remember it, she would probably have assumed it had stopped working a long time ago.

But apparently it had not.

"Hi?" Lily asks hesitantly as she picks up the phone. "Lily Potter speaking."

"Ah Lils, Lily, love of my brother's life, how are you doing by this fine day?"

"Sirius," Lily states dryly, lips twitching up in a smile almost despite herself as she relaxes. "What did you do this time?"

Sirius laughs awkwardly. "What makes you think I did something?" he asks.

Lily rolls her eyes. "Apart from the fact that I know you? You're calling me on a muggle phone, when I know for a fact that you're supposed to be spending time with James. Speaking of, how did you even get this number?" _Or learn how to use a phone_ , she adds silently, though Lily guesses that could have been part of his rebellious phase against his parents' 'pureblood is the only way to live' ideology.

"James gave it to me," Sirius replies, and there is something odd in his voice, something that, added to his previous and obviously forced cheerfulness, tells her that he's trying to hide something.

(it was impossible not to spend seven years with these so-called Marauders and not pick up on their tells, and Lily is grateful for that every day)

"Right," Lily drawls. "And about James… Where is he now?"

Sirius laughs again, the sound coming off as forced. "Uh, well, you see… Err, how do I say this…"

"Get on with it, Sirius!"

"Imighthavelosthiminthesupermarket?" Sirius squeals, and had she not been used to James' own ridiculous habit of speaking so quickly his words meshed into some kind of soup-y sentence, she wouldn't have understood a word of it.

"How did you manage to lose a grown man in a supermarket?" Lily asks, bewildered. "For that matter, what were you doing in a supermarket?"

"It's a long story," Sirius evades. "And it wasn't my fault—we just got separated and now I can't find him, but I can't be sure he's left already because maybe we just somehow keep missing each other."

Sighing, Lily says, "Where are you? I'll come and help. Between the two of us, I'm sure we'll figure something out."

"Thanks, Lily," Sirius replies, relief clear in his voice. "You're a life-saver."

"Well, you're both going to owe me for this," Lily replies, though she can't quite keep her smile out of her voice.

"Sure, whatever you want," Sirius laughs.

Sirius' laughter is infectious, and in the end Lily's still smiling when she Apparates to London and they find James fooling around in the children's section.

James seems surprised to see them, and he's terribly apologetic, but for a moment his eyes flash between her and Sirius with something like satisfaction or heat, and something clenches in Lily's stomach.

 _Oh_ , she thinks as she looks between Sirius and James. _**Oh**_ **.**

 **.x.**

The thing is, you'd have to be blind not to see that Sirius loves James. Everyone used to joke about it back in Hogwarts, and not all those joked had been silenced when James had started dating Lily. Most of the whispers had stopped, yes, but not all.

Lily had never minded, to be honest. At first because she couldn't care less what Potter and his little band of miscreants got up to in their spare time, and then because James deserved to have more people caring for him. Sirius, too, deserved to be cared for.

It would be easier, Lily thinks, if Sirius was a bad person, or if Lily could bring herself to hate him, or be jealous. And maybe she was, once upon a time. But nowadays, Sirius is always there, his presence hovering over them like a warm specter even when Lily and James are alone, and so Lily finds herself thinking about it.

The thing is, Lily loves James and James loves her, but Sirius is nice enough that Lily could see herself learning to love him too—if she doesn't already. Clearly, James already has a head start on her on that point, even if Lily knows him well enough by now to see that he'll never bring it up outright.

And so Lily wonders about it until she feels confident enough to make a decision. Could she truly do this? Love two men at the same time? Her heart seems to say yes but her mind wants to say no, and so Lily is torn until she remembers that sometimes you have to take a chance.

And that's what Lily does.

 **.x.**

"You should sleep with Sirius," Lily announces one morning over coffee. She says it like it's a fact, like it's an evidence even, and James chokes so bad he almost throws up.

"What?!" he asks once he can breathe again. "I should-what?"

Lily rolls her eyes and vanishes the mess of spilt coffee with a wave of her wand. "You heard me," she says. "You love him, he loves you—you should go for it."

"But, err, don't you-I mean, I couldn't do that to you," he babbles, though his cheeks are oddly red.

"I'm not asking you to cheat on me," Lily snorts.

"Then what are you asking for?" James asks, brow furrowed.

"That should be obvious," Lily smirks. "I'm asking you to seduce him into our bed."

"You," James starts with starry eyes, "are the best wife ever."

"We're not married," Lily replies, lips twitching up.

"Would you like to be?" James asks sheepishly.

Lily blinks in confusion for a moment, before the words register and her heart swoops in her chest. "Yes," she breathes out in a rush. "Yes, yes, yes," she repeats—no, she _chants_. Her smile is so wide her cheeks hurt, but she can't bring herself to care. "Yes!"

"We're getting married," James says brightly, his own smile a reflection of Lily's.

"We're getting married!" Lily echoes, joy bubbling up in her stomach. They almost knock over the table in their eagerness to get to each other, but, well, there isn't anything that can't be fixed there anyway. And Lily really, really wants to kiss her fiancé right now.

That day, breakfast is forgotten.

 **.x.**

James doesn't sleep with Sirius.

 _("Why not?" Lily asks him when he tells her that. She tries not to laugh at how dejected he looks, but she must not make a good job of that because James sends her a glare._

" _It's not that easy," James replies, running a hand through his hair. For once, that gesture doesn't look purposeful, and it is all the more endearing. "I can't just go, 'Hey, Sirius, how's it going?' 'Fine' 'Oh yes, me too, by the way do you want to have sex?'!"_

 _Lily snorts, biting back a smile. "I really don't see why not. At least that way there won't be any misunderstandings."_

 _James sighs. "Maybe I should just kiss him."_

" _Maybe you should, yes," Lily agrees with a smirk.)_

James does, however, invite Sirius over for a 'movie night'. Somehow, Lily got him addicted to romance comedies—probably her greatest achievement—and it's nice to see a pureblood enjoying so freely a muggle activity.

"I thought muggle technology didn't work well around magic?" Sirius asks once he gets there and sees their television.

"Please don't get her started," James says as he snags Sirius into a 'hello' hug that lasts slightly longer than appropriate.

Lily watches with an innocent smile and ignores the way Sirius shoots her a panicked look with as much faked obliviousness as she can muster. When Sirius turns around, she sends James a thumbs-up.

He winks at her as he drags Sirius toward the sofa, and when Lily joins them James is sitting at the left end of it and Sirius is beside him, looking uncharacteristically unsure of himself.

Lily plops herself down beside him and starts the movie before Sirius has time to protest. It's one of James' and her favorites, but Lily doesn't really pay any intention to it.

Sirius is too tense between them, and for a moment Lily fears that this isn't going to work, that she got it all wrong. But then the two characters on screen kiss for what they think is the last time and Sirius' breath hitches, and he sneaks a lot toward James that just breaks Lily's heart. He looks at Lily next, and while that look is nowhere near as heartbreaking, there's enough longing in it to ease her doubts.

 _Do it now!_ She sends with her eyes to James, glaring as hard as she can. _Do it or I will_ , she tries to convey, though she is unsure of how well it works until James wipes his hands on his worn trousers and licks his lips nervously.

In the end, Lily simply pushes Sirius into James' arms—men, honestly, always so slow at getting the message. James is the one to close the space between them though, a soft pressing of lips that quickly deepens into something more.

Watching James and Sirius kiss is like nothing else Lily had ever seen. She hadn't even realized that she had expected to be jealous until she feels relieved that she isn't. She feels warm all over, a fizzling kind of happiness in her chest at the sight of her two favorites people being happy, and something in her yearns to join them.

It is over too soon, Sirius pulling back with a panicked gasp and jerking away from the sofa as James' eyes flutter open. He looks mesmerized, and despite herself Lily finds herself drawn to Sirius' lips. They are red and inviting, and Lily can't help but wonder what they taste like.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asks, eyes flitting quickly between James and Lily. He tries to draw his emotions back in, to steady himself, but he isn't quite fast enough to hide the shame and longing before his face finally blanks.

Lily misses the vulnerability already.

James rolls his eyes. "Kissing you. What does it look like?"

"But, why?" Sirius asks, frowning confusedly.

"Lily seems to think I should be seducing you into our bed," James explains with a faint smile. "Isn't that right, Lils?"

"Oh yes," Lily purrs, licking her lips and winking at Sirius. It makes James laughs, like she had known it would, and Lily sends him a fond smile before focusing back on Sirius who, if he's not looking as panicked anymore, still looks really confused.

"Look," Lily says, softening her voice and displaying her hands in a gesture she hopes is appeasing, "it's really quite simple: you like us and we like you, so why should you be miserable and alone when you could be with us?"

James nods along as she talks, but Lily keeps her eyes strained on Sirius.

"You _like_ me?" Sirius asks, and the way his voice breaks just a little over the word _like_ kills her.

"Yes," Lily replies, forcing herself to keep and voice steady and sure. "I do, and James does too."

"Lily's right," James pipes up. "I like you, Padfoot. As in, romantically," he adds with a playful wink that makes Sirius blush a little.

Sirius looks stunned. "Wow," he breathes out. "I didn't-I didn't expect this."

Lily hums a little, and smiles as James replies. "If it's any consolation, I didn't really expect this either—Lily just cornered me one morning and told me we should have sex."

She bursts into laughter at the face Sirius makes hearing James' dry words.

"Well, it worked in the end, didn't it?"

She didn't mean it as a question, not really, but as she speaks she finds that her tone isn't quite as flippant as she had meant it to be. And it is amazing, the way James and Sirius seem to be able to read her mood, to understand what she's truly asking without her needing to actually ask it.

"You know, I think it did," James says playfully, and half a second later Sirius echoes the sentiment in a huff. "Yeah, it looks like it, doesn't it?"

Lily smiles so hard it hurts. "Well then, sit back down, your fat ass is blocking my view of the movie!"

"What did you just call me, Evans?" Sirius retorts immediately, cheeks reddening in mock-anger. "I'll have you know that this is the finest ass you'll ever see!"

"Oh, I don't know," James protests, amused. "I happen to think that mine is better."

"Yes, it's very nice, dear," Lily says in her most bored, unimpressed tone. "Very nice," she repeats, patting him on the arm.

"Sirius, help me, she's being mean," James pouts, staring at Sirius—Sirius, who is gaping at them and who is also still standing up.

It speaks of how well they know each other that Lily and James reach forward at the same time, each grabbing one of Sirius' hands and pulling him back down between them.

They collapse in a laughing pile of limbs, and Lily doesn't think she's felt quite this happy in a very long time.

Eventually, they sit back up properly, but this time it feels different. The air is charged with electricity and something that tastes a lot like hope, and none of them can seem to stop smiling—or watch the movie, for that matter.

It is too much and not enough all at once, and it is perhaps the loveliest start Lily has ever known.

"This good?" Lily asks, resting her head on Sirius' shoulder and her hand on his thigh.

"Yeah," Sirius replies, voice a little broken. "It's good."

Beside them James chuckles a little before copying Lily, his hand finding hers easily and intertwining their fingers.

"The best," James says, and it sounds like hope, like the promise of the best future they can ever strive for.

"The best," Lily echoes, and she finally lets happiness settle deep in her bones.


End file.
